Greece

July 2019
My first backpacking trip and my first European country. Read more
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  • Day 1

    Athens

    July 10, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 34 °C

    My first ever trip to Europe, I’ve always wanted to see Greece with its rich culture and history. I’ve been in contact with Daniel, my couchsurfing host in Athens. When I arrived at the airport at late night. I took a bus and went to the place he told me to go which was a square. He came to pick me up topless and I went inside his car and there were two other people. Alex and Arianne. They were both pretty quiet and Daniel and I were just talking. I asked him why he was topless and he suddenly told me that they were all nudists and that his home had a nudist policy and that I also had to be naked. I was quite shocked but considering my options and how tired I was, and for the new experience I kinda just went with it. At the end, he said he was joking. I went down his car but the door had trouble closing, Daniel started to get flustered saying that I might have broken it and then taking it back and saying he was joking again. What a funny dude. We arrived at his flat, it was a big place and enough beds for everyone. The other bed was hard and he offered to sleep wherever’s vacant. I opted for the couch. They had no air conditioning and it was summer night. I slept well as I was tired from the long trip.

    PS: Alex and Arianne were high on sally when we first met but were trying to keep it together to not weird me out.
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  • Day 2

    Athens II

    July 11, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    I woke up still a bit sleepy the next morning but ready and excited to go see what was in store. I took the metro and my first stop was the Ancient Agora of Athens, they had incredible ruins there, and I slowly made my way up to the Acropolis to see all of Greece’s famous sights. There was this huge rock as well that offered panoramic views of Athens, it was amazing. I went down and ate some souvlaki, a lady shop tender wanted to take a picture of my owl bag as well. I went to the museum and after went around town, the botanical gardens, Zappeion, and chilled in the Olympics stadium with a free audio tour. I went back to Daniel’s place and waited for them to arrive, Arianne smoked me up and it really got me quite high which was the first time in a long time I smoked weed. We went out to get some dinner, I had trouble tasting the food but ate nonetheless. Afterwards, we went to Daniel’s dealer to pick up some stuff but I was too stoned and just wanted to go home and rest and we did just that.Read more

  • Day 3

    Meteora

    July 12, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 18 °C

    The next day, we woke up early for a road trip to Delphi and Meteora. It was a long and relaxing car ride, Arianne smoked me up again from the weed we bought from the dealer last night. This time the high was much better, we went to Meteora first and saw the cliff-perched monasteries, what a sight to behold. Daniel and I were playing a game to see if I can tell if someone’s Japanese, Korean or Chinese and it was easy for me. I ate some hotdogs as well hoping it would bring some energy back. We picked up a hitch hiker along the way, Lisa, but I was too stoned to talk. The high wouldn’t go away and I just felt very stoned throughout the trip, going to the top of that boulder was quite scary while stoned. We took a break in one of the stores on the way and I drank a lot of water thinking I might have been dehydrated. We also stopped by to take a photo on the road, it was dope.Read more

  • Day 3

    Delphi

    July 12, 2019 in Greece

    We went to Delphi next, seeing its ruins and the museum. The sunset hitting the mountain and fields were amazing, there were lots of beautiful ruins and Arianne also helped me take some photos as I didn’t know how to pose at all. Arianne, was getting a bit mad being rushed by Daniel. Daniel also let me listen to his rap and I guess it was nice.Read more

  • Day 3

    Athens III

    July 12, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 27 °C

    We arrived home tired but they were planning to go party still and take MDA. I had no idea what that was but I was down with it, I thought it would be like weed and I wanted to just take it at home but they wanted to go out so I went with them. I took it and in the car, started to come up. The feeling was infinitely better than weed and the euphoria and bliss was out of this world, there was so much love, dancing, colors and music sounded amazing. It was easily the best night of my life, I met other people there, Vanessa from Italy and two girls from France, Marthe and Chloe whom I found out were also heading to Santorini like me so we were hyped for that. I also met a runaway yakuza from Japan as well as a guy from Mozambique. A doctor from Syria whom I danced a lot with and I introduced the guy and her friend since her friend seemed interested in the guy from Mozambique. I remember one of the things that really touched me was when Daniel told me I will always have a home in Athens. We partied until 5am until it was time to say goodbye. Then comes the next challenge for me, as the comedown starts to hit and I start feeling like shit, I made my way to the airport, pass security and fell asleep while standing up while waiting to board the plane.Read more

  • Day 4

    Emporio

    July 13, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 26 °C

    On the airplane, the comedown started to get worse and worse, I was dehydrated and weak, I thought I was dying and that if I told them or had a check up I’d end up in prison. A couple sat next to me, I told the Irish guy, I need some help and he asked me what’s up, and he somehow asked if it was drug related like he already knew, I was upfront with him and told him and thankfully he was experienced with it and just told me to relax and rest. The flight attendant gave me some sugar water too. I closed my eyes and when I opened we already arrived. I was quite dazed and the realization set in that I had no internet with the worst hangover and comedown and had to somehow find my way to my host’s address. It was overwhelming and my emotions were all over the place, I was getting brain zaps and was crashing hard. The girl took my hand and reassured me while the guy took their things, they called my host and also gave me their number just in case. I also exchanged some money, the guy behind the counter was extremely kind. The couple helped me buy my bus ticket and off I went. The bus driver kindly let me know that this was my stop and I changed to another bus, and went down in Emporio. I was lost. I tried to ask another couple by the cafe for some directions but they couldn’t speak English and had no internet. I also didn’t have the address just some basic landmarks. I made my way up the hill, a maze of white houses. Went to a bathroom near the church and puked on the gardens. Made my way up and up until I saw a familiar landmark, the souvenir shop Stavros mentioned, my host in Santorini. I stumbled my way unsure if it was the right place or not but there was another couchsurfer that was just leaving. If I hadn’t been there in that moment, I would have missed her and gotten lost the whole day and probably lose my sanity as well. She helped me get settled in and gave me the wifi password. I pretty much just crashed on the sofa, got up to take a dump and went straight back to sleep.

    Sometime soon, Stavros arrived and I was feeling a bit better. He gave me a joint, and I smoked it while he went away. When I had some energy, I went out and explored a bit, there were donkeys on the rooftop and the neighborhood was really beautiful and peaceful. At night, I ate some leftover food from the fridge and some oranges. I threw the pills away to give it to the cat outside but it ran. I slept again right after, woken up by Stavros entering the house in the middle of the night, his silhouette scared me since I was half asleep.
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  • Day 5

    Fira

    July 14, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 36 °C

    I woke up still not 100%, I went to Marthe and Chloe’s hostel to explore Santorini together. I walked there to save money and cuz I had the time though I tried to hitchhike. We chilled for a bit and they wanted to get a ride, but didn’t work out. We took a bus to Fira, and explored the city, it was awesome and beautiful, we looked for the blue domed church and the views and the city were fantastic all around. We had some lunch and I went with them to see Akrotiri, an ancient ruin in Santorini, afterwards we went to the red beach.

    I was already starting to feel depressed due to the MDA after effects and my thoughts wondered off most of the time I was with them. My next destination was supposed to be Mykonos, I already had my tickets and hostel booked but I knew it wouldn’t be fun alone after spending so much time with my friends back in Athens. I decided right there and then, I called Daniel and asked what their plan was and told them I’d join them. He was excited and told me to keep it a surprise. I excused myself from my French friends and headed back to my place to book ferry tickets which unfortunately I couldn’t make it in time and had to settle for a ticket the next day.

    I also got to know Stavros’s flatmate throughout my stay, we had a lot of funny conversations about Japan and Greece. He taught me malakkah which was pretty much the Greek word for cunt I am guessing. I fell straight to bed once again that night.
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  • Day 6

    Ierapetra

    July 15, 2019 in Greece ⋅ 20 °C

    I woke up and said good bye to Stavros’s flatmate. Stavros drove me to Fira and I chilled there, had some lunch and went to the port to take my ferry to Crete. I arrived there late afternoon and I had to take an almost 3 hour bus ride to the edge of the island to where Daniel and the gang were. While waiting for my bus, I smelled the familiar scent of cannabis, I locked eyes with the source and he offered me a smoke. I would never turn down a joint so off I went. He was from Afghanistan, we talked a bit and off I went to the bus.

    I arrived at night, I met with Daniel and while walking saw Arianne and this other girl from the UK, Beana. It was a nice reunion and we planned to surprise Alex next. I snuck up behind him and surprised him, everyone was happy. I met Daniel’s sister, Iren as well as his cousins Nadia and her brother. We talked while eating pizza while I shared more stuff about Japan and its culture. We played a game similar to mafia by the beach, the moon was out, the air was amazing. I was excited of the notion to try MDA again with them but Daniel told me he recommends I try LSD with them instead, I was immediately down for that. We walked home and Arianne smoked me up again along with the girl from the UK, inside an abandoned house right near Daniel’s place. I met his mom as well, a very nice lady. I wanted to spend a bit more time talking but they wanted to go to sleep, Arianne recommended I listen to music while sleeping. It was my first time listening to music while on weed, it was really amazing.
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  • Day 7

    Chrissi Island

    July 16, 2019 in Greece

    We woke up early, brought some water and some brunch. We walked to the boat and Daniel was asking Arianne if she had the paper, which I assumed was LSD. We arrived to the island, it was a wonderful place, there was a Rastafarian looking guy halfway through. We settled our things and enjoyed the beach for a while. Arianne then took her tab, just half. I did the same as well as Beana. After awhile Daniel also took his, we started to trip soon as I got these immense feelings, stronger and different than any of the drugs I’ve tried so far. The birds were flying in slow motion and I was just laughing so hard. At one point, I asked Daniel if this was it and he just laughed hard, I guess it was just starting. Somewhere along the line, I took the second half of the tab. The trip was wonderful, eating cherry tomatoes and trying cola was so fun. Everyone had their own thing going on, I was quite Zen, in lotus position and with gian mudras on both hands. They said I was like that for hours. Time was irrelevant, it was the longest day ever yet somehow I found myself at sunset and then it was night, suddenly we were the only ones left on the island. It was an amazing night with stars, and I felt really connected with Mother Nature and the Universe. I had lots of introspection. Daniel approached me while I was chilling on one of the benches, he told me to listen to this song titled Mykonos, which was so ironic because I was supposed to be on that island instead I was on this other island tripping balls. Hearing music for the first time on acid, it was a life changing experience, it sounded ethereal and just too beautiful, I then proceeded to replay the song an innumerable number of times, Daniel approached me again and was surprised I was listening still to the same song. The night went on, I smoked some weed from Arianne, I couldn’t sleep until sunrise.Read more

  • Day 8

    Crete

    July 17, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    I smoked some more in the morning and it made the trip come back along with some anxiety from sleep deprivation. Daniel still had his comedown and everyone was tired but I had to catch my bus to the airport. It was my first bad trip as well, it was very stressful getting everyone together and to head to the boat. We made it anyway back to Ierapetra and we made it to Daniel’s place, I had mad anxiety when we had to separate and was super paranoid if Daniel knew the way. I was still zonked as hell. I took a shower and saw that I had turned super tan from being on the island more than 24 hours. Daniel*s mom gave us some food and the sensations were too much for me, I couldn`t eat the tomato. I was too paranoid with the time and that I would miss our bus so I hurried off and got my things. We said our half-assed goodbye and I made my way to the bus station with Daniel. He gave me a big long hug, and I got on my bus going to the airport in Crete, with a heavy heart and worried if I could make it. I arrived at the airport safely, the check-in counter also commented on my bag saying it was cool. A lot of people do actually. The lights and sounds were overstimulating and I really had to shut myself out from them. I went on the airplane and was extremely thirsty and had a few cups after we landed in Athens.Read more